Shoe



R. S. MEGATHLIN SHOE March 9, 1937.

Filed Aug. 15, 1935 Patented Mar. 9, 1937 UNiTED STATES SHOE Ralph S. Megathlin, Wollaston, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 15, 1935; Serial No. 36,344

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and is illustrated as embodied in a novel heel-seat construction and with reference to improvements in methods of fitting heels to shoes.

In order to prepare the heel-seat portion of a sole attached to a shoe for the reception of a Cuban heel it is customary to remove material from the margin of the heel-seat portion by a beveling cut thereby reducing the heel-seat portion of the sole and shaping it to fit within the attaching face of the heel and to serve as a base to which the heel may be permanently secured. The beveling out just referred to commonly terminates in heel-breast receiving shoulders which are formed at opposite sides of the heel seat, the shoulders being substantially complemental to the portions of the heel breast with which they are to engage and being positioned lengthwise of the shoe to engage the breast of the heel positioned upon the shoe.

The shape of the heel-breast section of the sole of the finished shoe is usually different from the shape of the heel-breast section of the sole at the time the heel-breast receiving shoulders are formed. It is therefore diflicult to provide heelbreast receiving shoulders which are exactly complemental to the respective breast portions of heels which are to engage such shoulders and it has been found that gaps are frequently formed between the upper breast corners of the heel and the respective heel-breast receiving shoulders at the time the heel is attached to the shoe. Such gaps are quite noticeable and mar the appearance of the shoe.

Even though the heel-breast receiving shoul ders of the sole of the shoe are complemental to opposing portions of the breast of the heel at the time the heel is attached to the shoe, it has been found that the outer portions of the heelbreast receiving shoulders are likely to draw away from the breast of the heel when the shoe is worn. It will be noted that the breast of the Cuban heel forms an acute angle with the shank portion of the sole and supports the edges of the sole at the rear of the shank. However, when gaps are formed between the breast corners of the heel and the heel-breast receiving shoulders the heel fails to support the margins of the rear end edge portions of the sole with the result that the edge portions of the sole dro op away from the shoe upper.

The above-mentioned defects have been remedied to some extent by providing the sole of the shoe with heel-breast receiving shoulders which are inclined at such at angle to the median plane of the sole that they are engaged by the breast of the heel progressively from the outer to the inner ends of the shoulders as the heel is forced forwardly into its proper position on the shoe. The term median plane is herein used to denote a plane which is disposed at right angles to the bottom of the sole and includes the longitudinal v median line of the sole. Such a construction insures the formation of permanently closed joints between the breast corners of the heel and the edge portions of the sole. It has been found, however, that when heel-breast receiving shoulders of this type are used, the speed of the heelattaching operation is reduced since the heel has to be forced forwardly of the sole by the operator with considerable pressure to its proper position preparatory to attaching the heel to the shoe upper.

With the above considerations in View the illustrated shoe, in accordance with a feature of this invention, is provided with a sole having heelbreast receiving shoulders an inner face of each of which is substantially complemental to a portion of the breast of a heel to be attached to the shoe, and an outer face of each of which projects abruptly rearwardly of the sole from the inner face, the outer but not the inner faces being flexed forwardly of the sole under pressure of the upper breast corners of the heel so that the breast of the heel engages the inner faces of the shoulders. With such a construction it has been found that during the life of the shoe the breast receiving shoulders engage the breast corners of the heel with considerable pressure and are securely held against drooping away from the shoe upper by the heel.

These and other features of the invention will be described in detail and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the rear end of an inverted shoe prior to the attachment of a heel to the shoe;

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view partly in section, on an enlarged scale, showing a heel in the process of being forced against one of the heel-breast receiving shoulders of the sole illustrated in Fig.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the rear end of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 1 after the heel has been attached thereto but before the lateral edges of the sole and corresponding sides of the heel have been jointed.

The illustrated shoe 2% is provided with a sole 22 having a pair of heel-breast receiving shoulders 24 comprising inner faces 26 which are complemental to opposing portions of the breast 28 of a Cuban heel 36 to be applied to the shoe, and comprising outer faces 32 which extend rearwardly of the sole and toward the edges 34 of the same from the inner faces 26. The heelseat portion 36 (Fig. 1) of the sole 22 is reduced and beveled to fit within the attaching face of the heel 30 and to serve as a solid base to which the heel may be attached, the heelseat portion of the sole being sufficiently reduced, moreover, to insure that the rim 38 of the attaching face of the heel shall snugly engage the counter portion of the shoe 26.

The heel-seat portion 36 of the sole 22 may be reduced and the heel-breast receiving shoulders 24 formed by the use of a machine such as disclosed in an application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 36,345, filed August 15, 1935, in my name, which machine comprises a pair of shoulder-forming cutters (not shown) movable at substantially right angles to the general plane of the sole and of suitable shape to form the heel-breast receiving shoulders 24. The sole 22 of the shoe 20 is usually considerably wider than the upper end of the breast 2B of the heel 3B and it is thus desirable to extend the shoulder-forming cuts to the edges 34 of the sole. Accordingly, each of the shoulder-forming knives of the above-mentioned machine is provided with a cutting edge a portion of which forms an extension 40 on each of the faces 32. The shape of the extension 40 is not important since the edge portions of the sole 22 are removed after the heel 30 has been attached to the shoe 20, by trimming the sole along lines 42 (Fig. 3) thereby jointing the edges of the shank portion of the sole to conform to the size and shape of the heel. I

Each of the faces 32 and its extension 40 projects rearwardly of the sole from the corresponding inner face 26, as shown at 44. Preparatory to attaching the heel 3m to the shoe 20 the breast corners of the heel are forced against the outer faces 32 (Fig. 2). As the heel 30 is moved forwardly upon the reduced heel-seat portion 36 of the sole 22, the projections 44 are forced forwardly. They also bend toward the shoe upper due to the fact that the breast 28 of the heel 36 forms an acute angle with the shank of the sole 22.

The projections 44 are easily compressed or forced forwardly under pressure of the breast corners of the heel 36 until the breast 28 of the heel engages the inner faces 26. Each of the projections 44 has a tendency to wrap itself about the breast corner of the heel (Fig. 3) as the heel is positioned upon the shoe. It will thus be clear that a tight joint is formed between the upper breast corners of the heel 30 and the respective projections 44. Even though the sole 22, during the life of the shoe, should shrink, the projections 44, which have been compressed to a considerable extent, spring back into contact with the breast of the heel and support the sole to insure that the same shall not separate from the shoe upper as above described.

Although the invention is illustrated with reference to a pair of heel-breast receiving shoulders 24 spaced at opposite sides of the reduced heel-seat portion 35 of the sole 22, it will be understood that the heel-breast receiving shoulders 24 may be connected by a central shoulder extending transversely of the sole and thus forming in effect a single heel-breast receiving shoulder extending from one side of the sole to the other.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe provided with a sole having heelbreast receiving shoulders, each of said shoulders comprising an inner face which is substantially complemental to a portion of the breast of a heel to be attached to the shoe and an outer face which projects abruptly rearwardly of the sole from said inner face, said outer but not said inner faces being flexed forwardly of the sole under pressure of the upper breast corners of the heel so that the breast of the heel engages the inner faces of said shoulders.

2. A shoe provided with a sole having heelbreast receiving shoulders, each of said shoulders having an elongated inner face complemental to a portion of the breast of a heel to be attached to the shoe and a short outer portion which extends abruptly rearwardly and toward the corresponding edge of the sole from the outer end of the inner face, said rearwardly extending portions but not said elongated inner faces being flexed forwardly of the shoe and toward the shoe upper under pressure of the upper breast corners of the heel so that the breast'of the heel engages the inner faces of the respective shoulders.

RALPH S. MEGATHLIN. 

